THE PURPLE MARTIN. 261 







The Choctaws and Chickasaws cut off all the top branches from a 

 sapling near their cabins, leaving the prongs a foot or two in 

 length, on each of which they hang a gourd or calabash, properly 

 hollowed out, for their convenience. On the banks of the Missis- 

 sippi, the negroes stick up long canes, with the same species of 

 apartment fixed to their tops, in which the Martins regularly 

 breed. Wherever I have travelled in this country, I have 

 seen with pleasure the hospitality of the inhabitants to thi favor- 

 ite bird. 



" About the middle or 20th of April, the Martins first begin to 

 prepare their nest. The last of these which I examined was 

 formed of dry leaves of the weeping willow, slender straws, hay, 

 and feathers in considerable quantity. The eggs were four, very 

 small for the size of the bird, and pure-white, without any spots. 

 The first brood appears in May, the second late in July. During 

 the period in which the female is laying, and before she commences 

 incubation, they are both from home the greater part of the day. 

 When the female is sitting, she is frequently visited by the male, 

 who also occupies her place while she takes a short recreation 

 abroad. He also often passes a quarter of an hour in the apart- 

 ment beside her, and has become quite domesticated since her con- 

 finement. He sits on the outside, dressing and arranging his 

 plumage, occasionally passing to the door of the apartment, as if 

 to inquire how she does. His notes, at this time, seem to have 

 assumed a peculiar softness ; and his gratulations are expressive of 

 much tenderness. Conjugal fidelity, even where there is a num- 

 ber together, seems to be faithfully preserved by these birds. On 

 the 25th of May, a male and female Martin took possession of a 

 box in Mr. Bartram's garden. A day or two after, a second 

 female made her appearance, and stayed for several days ; but from 

 the cold reception she met with, being frequently beat off by the 

 male, she finally abandoned the place, and set off, no doubt, to seek 

 for a more sociable companion. 



" The Purple Martin, like his half-cousin the King-bird, is the 

 terror of crows, hawks, and eagles. These he attacks whenever 

 they make their appearance, and with such vigor and rapidity that 

 they instantly have recourse to flight. So well known is this to 

 the lesser birds, and to the domestic poultry, that, as soon as they 



